Did Radia tapes impact journos’ Padma awards?

There is a palpable sense of shock among media folk that the 2011 Republic Day honours’ list contains no “working journalists” i.e. those still burning the phone lines and greasing the totempole in anticipation of the big day.

“Only one mediaperson, veteran T.J.S. George, made the cut to a Padma Bhushan despite the buzz that nearly a dozen were long-listed. Sources said the government was cautious about this category because at least a couple of former awardees figured in the Niira Radia tapes.”

“The most conspicuous omission from the list are mediapersons. For the first time in several years, not a single journalist has been picked for any of the Padma Awards. It is not clear whether the decision was influenced by the controversy surrounding the Niira Radia tapes in which some prominent mediapersons have been revealed in bad light.”

2 Comments

Journalists should not accept awards from the government. Because the main task of a journalist is to expose the rich and the powerful, which is the government and their cronies.

The moment a journalist gets awarded by the government, his credibility takes a hit. Because our leaders are not charitable individuals, they would never reward someone unless that person is prepared to support them blindly in their agenda.

SAY NO TO SARKARI AWARDS – MY ADVISE TO ALL JOURNALISTS (A corrupt sarkar can only give out “corrupt awards”)